We gotta hand it to fellow media outlet Saving Country Music for their write up on Luke Bryan and his opinions on defining Outlaw Country. Nashville Music Guide could not agree more.
To pull a couple comments from the article that says it all:
Speaking to HITS Daily Double in an article posted Thursday (7-9), and discussing about the always-nauseating subject of the “evolution” of country music, Luke Bryan said,
“Well, yeah. I think that people who want Merle, Willie and Waylon just need to buy Merle, Willie and Waylon. I’ve never been a ‘Those were the good old days’ kind of guy. I’m not big on looking back on the past. I’m not an outlaw country singer. I don’t do cocaine and run around. So I’m not going to sing outlaw country. I like to hunt, fish, ride around on my farm, build a big bonfire and drink some beers—and that’s what I sing about. It’s what I know. I don’t know about laying in the gutter, strung out on drugs. I don’t really want to do that.”
…….
Being an Outlaw never had anything to do with arrest records or cocaine addictions. Anyone found on Willie Nelson’s crew with their nose in the powder was immediately fired. Being an Outlaw was about being yourself, insisting on having creative control of your music, and moving country music forward while still respecting the roots of the genre and all the greats that came before—all virtues Luke Bryan and many others could learn from.
For the full article follow the link below:
Source: Luke Bryan Defines Outlaw Country As “Laying in the Gutter, Strung Out On Drugs.”